Semenya loses IAAF case
Caster Semenya has lost her case against athletics’ governing body, the IAAF, The Guardian reports. The ruling means she will have to medicate to reduce her testosterone if she wants to keep running on the international stage.
According to the newspaper, “The surprise decision, which was announced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after three judges had spent more than two months deliberating over the complex and highly contentious case, came even though the court agreed that the IAAF’s policy was discriminatory to athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) such as Semenya.”
Semenya’s legal team, the court said, was not able to prove that the governing body’s policy was invalid, ruling instead that its policy was in fact “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to ensure fair competition for females.
It added: “The panel found that the DSD regulations are discriminatory but that, on the basis of the evidence submitted by the parties, such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics in the restricted events.”
The Guardian writes that the panel of judges however, “expressed some serious concerns as to the future practical application of these DSD regulations, leaving open the possibility of future changes in regulations.”
The sports scientist Ross Tucker, who was part of Semenya’s team of experts at the court last month, believes it will mean the South African will run the 800m around seven seconds slower.
Semenya had taken the IAAF to court over its plans requiring female athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) – who are often born with male testes – to take hormone suppressants, arguing that the policy was discriminatory, unfair, and potentially posed a health risk.
STAFF REPORTER
According to the newspaper, “The surprise decision, which was announced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after three judges had spent more than two months deliberating over the complex and highly contentious case, came even though the court agreed that the IAAF’s policy was discriminatory to athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) such as Semenya.”
Semenya’s legal team, the court said, was not able to prove that the governing body’s policy was invalid, ruling instead that its policy was in fact “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to ensure fair competition for females.
It added: “The panel found that the DSD regulations are discriminatory but that, on the basis of the evidence submitted by the parties, such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics in the restricted events.”
The Guardian writes that the panel of judges however, “expressed some serious concerns as to the future practical application of these DSD regulations, leaving open the possibility of future changes in regulations.”
The sports scientist Ross Tucker, who was part of Semenya’s team of experts at the court last month, believes it will mean the South African will run the 800m around seven seconds slower.
Semenya had taken the IAAF to court over its plans requiring female athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) – who are often born with male testes – to take hormone suppressants, arguing that the policy was discriminatory, unfair, and potentially posed a health risk.
STAFF REPORTER
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